Increase in Home Medical Device Purchase Damages Due to "User Fault" in Product Defects
[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] The Korea Consumer Agency announced on the 11th that the number of consumers purchasing home medical devices such as hearing aids and massage devices is increasing, and related damages continue, requiring caution.
According to the Consumer Agency, a total of 452 medical device-related damage relief applications have been received over the past three years, occurring steadily each year. By type, 'quality and AS complaints' accounted for the largest portion at 61.1% (276 cases), followed by 'refusal to cancel contracts and contract non-fulfillment' related to rental agreements at 21.9% (99 cases), 'refusal of withdrawal of subscription' at 11.3% (51 cases), and 'non-fulfillment of labeling and advertising' at 4.0% (18 cases).
Quality and AS complaints often involved cases where product defects occurred within the warranty period, and consumers requested free repairs or refunds from businesses, but disputes arose as businesses claimed consumer misuse or denied defects.
Regarding refusal to cancel contracts and contract non-fulfillment, it was confirmed that there were considerable damages related to free trials. In cases where products were provided on the condition of deciding on final purchase after a certain free trial period, when consumers tried to return the products, businesses claimed that no free trial event had been conducted or that the products were originally non-refundable.
By item, damages related to massage devices accounted for the largest share at 28.5% (129 cases), followed by hearing aids at 18.8% (85 cases), with these two items making up nearly half of the cases.
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The Korea Consumer Agency urged consumers to prevent medical device-related damages by ▲ confirming free trial and return periods at the time of contract and recording them in the contract ▲ trying the product in advance whenever possible ▲ keeping related materials such as receipts, warranty certificates, and advertising content ▲ securing evidence when product defects occur and immediately notifying the business.
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